November 14
1800s *1887 - The Cleveland Blues of the American Association announces a new uniform design featuring dark blue stripes and piping. The new suit will inspire the nickname "Spider" because of the web-like pattern. 1900s-1950 *1900 - The National League rejects the American League as an equal, declaring it an outlaw league outside of the National Agreement, thus inaugurating a state of war. This follows the AL's announcement two days ago that it has made arrangements to go into Washington, DC, Baltimore and Philadelphia. Two weeks later the American Association makes it a three-way battle. *1929: **Former pitching star Joe McGinnity dies at the age of 58. McGinnity, nicknamed "Iron Man", posted 246 wins in only 10 major league seasons. He will enter the Hall of Fame in 1946. **The Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League send outfielder Wally Berger to the Boston Braves for three players and cash consideration. *1946 - Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox wins his first American League Most Valuable Player Award. Williams had won the Triple Crown in 1941, but had lost the MVP race to Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees. This time, Williams beats out Detroit Tigers ace pitcher Hal Newhouser, a two-time winner of the MVP award who finishes second in the balloting *1956 - The Pittsburgh Pirates say the franchise may have to move unless a new municipal stadium is built to replace Forbes Field. *1957 - Milwaukee Braves outfielder Hank Aaron is named National League Most Valuable Player with 239 votes. Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals is a close second with 230, and his teammate Red Schoendienst finished third with 221. 1960s-1970s *1961 - John Fetzer's purchase of the outstanding one-third interest in the Detroit Tigers makes him sole owner of the club. *1962 - Bob Kennedy joins the Chicago Cubs coaching staff as its eighth and final member for the following season. *1966 - George Weiss resigns as the New York Mets president and is succeeded by Bing Devine. *1973: **Oakland Athletics outfielder Reggie Jackson wins the American League MVP Award in unanimous fashion. The future Hall of Famer led the AL with 32 home runs, 117 RBI, 99 runs and a .531 slugging percentage, in helping the Athletics to their second straight World Series title. **Baltimore Orioles pitcher Jim Palmer is named the American League Cy Young winner. Palmer collected 22 victories and led the AL with a 2.40 ERA. *1979 - Don Baylor of the California Angels wins the MVP Award in the American League. The league leader in both runs scored (120) and runs batted in (139), Baylor also hit .296 with 36 home runs helping the Angels win the AL West Division and reach the post-season for the first time in franchise history. 1980s *1980 - Free agent outfielder Claudell Washington signs a five-year contract with the Atlanta Braves. *1985 - The Milwaukee Brewers release 39-year-old pitcher Rollie Fingers, the MLB all-time saves leader with 341. Fingers, who struggled with a 5.04 ERA during the season, will contemplate a comeback with the Cincinnati Reds before deciding to retire *1986 - The Doubleday Publishing Company agrees to sell the World Champion New York Mets to Nelson Doubleday and Fred Wilpon for $80.75 million. The company had purchased the Mets for a then-record $21.1 million in 1980. *1988 The California Angels name Doug Rader as manager of the team. Rader had compiled a record piloting the Texas Rangers from 1982 to 1985. *1989 - San Diego Padres relief ace Mark Davis is selected the Cy Young Award winner in the National League. Davis saved 44 games while sporting an ERA of 1.85. The next season, Davis will save only six games after signing a free agent contract with the Kansas City Royals. 1990s *1990 - Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Doug Drabek, who posted a 22-6 record with 131 strikeouts and a 2.76 ERA, is named the National League Cy Young Award winner, collecting 23 of a possible 24 first-place votes. *1995 - Mark Kotsay, of Cal State Fullerton, is named as winner of the Golden Spikes Award as the nation's top amateur baseball player. *1996: **Texas Rangers outfielder Juan González edges Alex Rodriguez of the Seattle Mariners by three votes to win the American League MVP Award. It is the tightest race for the award in the AL since 1960. González batted .314 with 47 home runs and 144 RBI despite missing 28 games with an injury. **Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Pat Hentgen is named the American League Cy Young Award winner. Hengen posted a 20-10 record with 177 strikeouts and a 3.22 ERA, while Andy Pettitte of the Yankees (21-8, 162, 3.87) finished second in the vote. **The Toronto Blue Jays and the Pittsburgh Pirates complete a nine-player swap with the Jays acquiring the second baseman they are looking for in 29-year-old Carlos García. In addition, Toronto pick up outfielder Orlando Merced and reliever Dan Plesac. The Pirates receive six prospects, including OF Craig Wilson, infielder Abraham Núñez and pitcher José Silva. 2000s *2000 - Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson wins his second consecutive National League Cy Young Award, and his third overall. *2001: **For the second time in his career, Seattle Mariners skipper Lou Piniella is named the American League Manager of the Year. Piniella, the only person to appear on every ballot, guided to the Mariners to an historical 116 victories which tied the 1906 Chicago Cubs as the winningest team in major league history. **Larry Bowa, with an 86-76 record, is named the National League Manager of the Year, becoming the first manager in Philadelphia Phillies history to win the award. In his first year at the helm, Philadelphia improves by 21 games finishing the season two games behind the first-place Atlanta Braves. *2005: **New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, whose 48 home runs set a league record for that position and broke a 68-year-old club mark for right-handed hitters, earned his second American League MVP Award in the closest vote since 2001. Rodríguez edged Boston Red Sox DH David Ortiz, 331-307, in voting by the BBWAA. He received 16 of 28 first-place votes while Ortiz earned 11, with 2004 MVP Vladimir Guerrero of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim collecting the other to finish third with 196 points. The margin of victory is the smallest since Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki edged Oakland's Jason Giambi, 289-281, four years ago. **Pitcher Josh Towers and the Toronto Blue Jays agreed to a $5.2 million, two-year contract. The 28-year-old right-hander went 13-12 with a 3.71 ERA, and was eligible for salary arbitration for the first time. **Six weeks after beginning their search for a new manager, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays have decided Los Angeles Angels bench coach Joe Maddon is the right man for the job. The team has selected Maddon over incumbent Devil Rays bench coach John McLaren as Lou Piniella's successor. **The Baltimore Orioles have officially announced that they will not be bringing back outfielder Sammy Sosa or first baseman Rafael Palmeiro, though both have indicated that they would like to return to baseball. "At this point, we are heading in a different direction," club executive VP Mike Flanagan said. Births *1929 - Jim Piersall, All-Star outfielder *1953 - Kim Andrew, infielder *1954 - Willie Hernández, All-Star pitcher *1966 - Curt Schilling, All-Star pitcher *1968 - Kent Bottenfield, All-Star pitcher *1973 - Rubén Rivera, outfielder *1978 - Xavier Nady, infielder/outfielder Deaths *1929 - Joe McGinnity, Hall of Fame pitcher (b. 1871) *1932 - Boss Schmidt, catcher (b. 1880) *1962 - Dick Hoblitzel, infielder (b. 1888) *1963 - Oscar Melillo, infielder (b. 1899) *2004 - Jesse Gonder, catcher (b. 1936)